Today people routinely separate whole blood, usually by centrifugation, into its various therapeutic components, such as red blood cells, platelets, and plasma.
Conventional blood processing methods use durable centrifuge equipment in association with single use, sterile processing systems, typically made of plastic. The operator loads the disposable systems upon the centrifuge before processing and removes them afterwards.
Blood processing equipment is typically of a size that does not permit easy transport or storage at a blood collection site, particularly when the site is remote from a dedicated collection facility. Furthermore, set-up of conventional blood processing equipment at the blood collection site for operation can sometimes be time consuming and tedious.